"Agile" as an enterprise strategy

(Second of three parts)

Last week we covered an initial concept of Agile, its history and the success of many companies that embrace it. Today, much of what I will write will be culled from "Rework" by Jason Fried and David Hansson as a proven example that Agile works as a practical approach to doing business or starting out one. 

Agile is a bold concept. Its goal is to start a good idea right away that it rids of what we know in business school as business or marketing plans. In fact, it frowns planning. Not that it doesn't believe in planning, it's just that planning, more often than not, consumes a lot of resources just to address "perceived" problems in the future. And many of these imagined fears can stuck everyone to focus on what is yet to come than to spend their energies to get everything started right away. "Excitement comes from doing something and then letting customers have at it. Planning a menu for a year is boring. Getting the new menu out, serving the food, and getting feedback is exciting. So don't wait too long--you'll smother your sparks if you do." says Fried. 

So how does an Agile company get something done without a plan? A simple to-do list will do. Many great ideas remain imprisoned in the mind because we think of the wholesale work involved in its execution. And when you think wholesale, you worry about where to get the money, where to find the right people to help you, where to get this and that. The worrying goes on forever. Thinking about the requirements alone is stressful, agonizing and very dispiriting.

Agile is retail thinking with a wholesale goal. When you think retail, you begin with what you can afford. Start in your garage if you need to. Do the initial task yourself. The most important thing here is to get your idea happen! So if you're just starting out, make sure to have that to-do list handy. It is also very motivating that for such a simple to-do list you feel good about how much of it have been knocked down. The beauty of Agile is that, it celebrates every little milestone that you have accomplished than the grandiosity of consultant-speak business or marketing plans that you just handsomely paid which, by the way, are but just ornate guesses. The way you build momentum is by getting something done and then moving on to the next thing not fancy on what is written that eventually collects dust.

A lean and mean workforce is typical of an agile organization. It has robust horsepower yet the very people that comprise the organization do not work like horses either. In fact, it dreads people who claim to be workaholics. According to Freid, "Not only is this workaholism unnecessary, it's stupid. Working more doesn't mean you care more or get more done. It just means you work more."

Also, the kind of people that work in an agile organization are not those that have earned high GPAs in their transcripts or those who have multiple or advanced degrees earned from "reputable" universities. They are no bunch of geniuses. They are just like you and me, who rely more on common sense than textbooks.

To Freid, "Problems can usually be solved with simple, mundane solutions. That means there's no glamorous work. You don't get to show off your amazing skills. You just build something that gets the job done and then move on. This approach may not earn you oohs and aahs, but it lets you get on with it."

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